Beef sales up by more than £1m over Christmas
British consumers enjoyed a wider range of festive meats at Christmas as they catered for smaller gatherings, resulting in a £1.1 million increase in sales for beef, according to new data from Kantar.
The new data found more consumers opting for beef, lamb and pork at Christmas, with 645,000 more people in Britain purchasing a beef roasting joint in December compared with the same period in 2019.
Overall spending on beef was £1.1 million higher than last year and shoppers also spent £2.2 million more on pork and £445,000 more on lamb during their lockdown Christmas, with some moving away from the traditional turkey roast.
Throughout November and December, campaigns by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) were aimed at raising awareness of PGI Welsh Beef, PGI Welsh Lamb and pork as options for people who were cooking for smaller groups.
HCC market development manager, Rhys Llywelyn, said: “We anticipated that Christmas demand was likely to be different this year. With this in mind we concentrated on advertising on both traditional and social media, promoting alternative festive meals with lamb, beef and pork. We also emphasised the value of local purchasing; and many high street butchers – who have been so vital in supporting their communities through the pandemic – reported very strong trade in December.
“We’re grateful to our partners who helped make this campaign a success – from chefs who developed exciting new recipes and social media content, to sports stars who helped endorse the campaign.
“HCC is continuing to support the red meat sector in January, with new promotions themed around health and sustainability.”
BGA highlights issues with post-Brexit game exports
Brexit bringing UK pork exports under pressure, says NPA
